Today I got one of the tougher additions to my British penny collection. It's an 1868, which has a mintage of less than 1.2 million and Krause values at $15.50 in F. I almost didn't get it either because the post office chewed up the envelope and then returned it to the sender. Fortunately the coin was well secured and they sent it again. But what makes me really happy is that it was listed on eBay with no photo, so it was vastly undervalued. I paid about $3.50 shipped for a coin that I thought I'd have to pay $30 for someday. It's not in fantastic shape but well within the standards I set for myself for a coin this old and scarce. Oh, and I cut off a corner with my scanner; it doesn't really have a gouge out of the bottom.
I'm not doing variations. The only date I need between 1860 and 2009 is 1880. I just can't find that one for sale.
Unless I find it in a junk bin, it will always just be a dream for me as it is for most everyone else. As you may have guessed from my excitement at getting a coin for $3.50, I like to keep my costs down. Rarely do I pay more than $10 for any one coin.
the 1933 is the holy grail for every british collector, only 6 were minted that year and they are all accounted for bar one which was stolen from under the foundation stone of st james church in leeds in 1968...but it is widely believed over here that a certain collector has it in his posession. there are a few fakes around but unless it has any trace of being buried in cement it is certainly not genuine. the other one which is nigh impossible to find is the 1953 george VI penny which was minted before his death, and never released, however ther have been rumours that some escaped into circulation, but i personally don't believe it.
You mean the 1952 penny? As far as I know, there's one proof known, and possibly another. Picture of it on this page: http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/pen5.html
So do you also have the extremely scarce 1869 penny too? I have one, but it is in 'poor' (clear date) condition ... still, at least I have one!
I just got the 1864 and 1869 in the last few weeks. I got a good deal on the 69. It was about $11 and has better details than the 68 pictured above, though it has two small gouges. I'm not looking for perfection though. I haven't gotten many of the pre-1860 pennies yet because I get most of my coins on eBay, and most eBay sellers are unable to distinguish between the half pennies and pennies from those years. I thought I had purchased four or five pennies from the 1850s, until I came across a real penny from that era and realized the ones I had purchased were actually half pennies. You can't tell by the photos on eBay since they are the same design, and most sellers don't seem to know.
The only ones I have pre-1860 are 1855 and 58. I either have or have arrangements to purchase all the dates after 1860. So besides the ones I mentioned that I have, I need the rest, but many of these are more expensive so I'm not really pursuing them right now.
